Duel: A Tale of Sokka and Suki
by Loopy777
Summary: Sokka and Suki have some fun sparring on Ember Island. Some light romance and combat description.


_Author Notes: Based on August 21st (2008) prompt for "Sukka Week". This isn't a direct sequel to my previous work, "Style", but it can be._

**Duel – A Tale of Suki and Sokka**

It had been a while since they fought each other. Too long.

On a private beach on Ember Island, on a natural jetty of flat-topped rocks not far from Fire Prince Zuko's vacation home, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and High Kyoshi Warrior Suki clashed in faux-combat for the first time since they reunited. They loved every minute of it, laughing and teasing as they fought, less concerned with exploiting the other's mistakes than just performing with skill and grace. In this battle it was especially difficult, as neither one was wielding a familiar weapon. Sokka was using twin broadswords "borrowed" from his friend and ally Zuko, while Suki had possession of Sokka's own jian, which he himself had forged from a meteor.

Suki had trained with a katana, and found it difficult to adapt to the unfamiliar jian while also keeping track of the treacherous terrain. She was used to guiding a blade with two hands on the hilt, and her normal style favored strong diagonal cuts and lunging thrusts. The jian's hilt was instead meant to be held by the dominant hand, its movement balanced by the other hand, and its double-edged construction favored quick stabs and cutting attacks that flowed into deflective defense. It was a difficult method to pick up on the fly, and she often found herself abandoning the method in favor of a two-hand grip and improvised maneuvers.

Of course, Suki would have preferred her lost war-fans.

Sokka, for his part, was possibly doing even worse with the double broadswords. He obviously had only the most basic familiarity with the weapons, and while he was doing an admirable job of moving them both simultaneously, he wasn't familiar enough with the proper sequences to keep the full-length blades from crowding each other.

To Suki's amazement, though, he was actually dominating the sparring session. She was a magnificent warrior, but Sokka somehow managed to take ownership of the terrain. Even with bare feet, he didn't seem to experience any difficulty with the slippery puddles that had accumulated on some of the rocks (probably a result of growing up on an ice plain), and was proving quite good at maneuvering her against the edge of the jetty and boxing her in. As a Kyoshi Warrior, her balance was exceptional, and she always got out of the traps, but none of her attempts at turnabout had succeeded. He was too good at moving in random (some might say nonsensical) patterns.

That simply wouldn't do.

_"You're really working hard at this."_

_"Of course I am. I'm not a buffoon. Even if I am wearing a dress and makeup."_

_"Only buffoons wear dresses and makeup?"_

_"Oh... no, of course not. I meant... I mean I'm a man, so... not that..."_

_Her laugh spared him from further attempts at explanation._

_"You just seem really driven to learn this. We have time. The Avatar isn't in a hurry to leave."_

_"I want to learn as much as possible. The more time I have, the more I can pick up."_

_"But why? Is it that important to you to be the best?"_

_He hesitated before responding. His voice was a serious as when he delivered his earlier apology. "Warriors need to be able to protect their people. That means doing everything you can to become better. But my dad left before he could show me everything that made him a great protector. He brought together all the warriors in the South to fight the Fire Nation. Before, we were cowering, waiting to be attacked. He left me behind to protect what's left, but... well, I couldn't even stop the Fire Nation from taking Aang right after we found him."_

_"Do you think the Kyoshi Warriors could have done a better job?"_

_"Maybe. Hopefully you'll never have to find out. You girls are good. ...Not that being girls has anything to do with it! But I'm not going to underestimate the Fire Nation again. Especially not the goon with the scar on his face. Aang and Katara are my responsibility, and how would it look to my dad if I didn't learn what I needed to take care of them, right?"_

Salty waves crashed against the jetty rocks. In the distance, a flash of flame flickered above Zuko's house. The prince must have been giving another Firebending lesson to his pupil.

Suki stood with the jian hanging loosely in her hand. Sokka took a cautious step forward, his happy grin unwavering.

Suki tossed the jian up into the tropical air with a slow spin. Unhampered by the weapon, she dashed at her sparring partner. He crossed his blades in what was probably meant to be a defensive posture. Suki thought it was a quaint move. She stopped running, going into a skid across the light coating of sand, and ducked below his guard. She used her hands to stop herself just short of crashing into him, and called upon the strength hidden in her deceptively thin arms to lift and twist herself around for a sweeping kick. Sokka landed flat on his back, unable to catch up with gravity's betrayal in time to take control of his fall.

Unarmed melee was something Suki had become very good at.

She waited for an indignant protest from Sokka, but instead he pointed up and whimpered, "My sword!" Suki followed his finger, and saw the jian coming down for a landing perilously close to the jetty's edge.

A small wave lapped and foamed against the rocks.

Suki again pushed herself into motion, will and muscle working in tandem to avert disaster. She caught the sword by the handle before it could land and perhaps rebound in an unfortunate direction, but her own momentum couldn't be so easily halted. Her bare feet slid across yet another slick patch on the rocks, and she saw the ocean water approaching at a distressing rate.

Then a hand wrapped around her wrist, granting salvation and deceleration.

Suki, leaning stably over the edge of the jetty, turned to face Sokka. He smiled at her, his arm steady even as it supported her weight. She smiled back and hefted the jian. "Caught it."

_It was several hours after the Fire Lord's defeat that he mentioned it. "I'm going to miss Space Sword. How will I tell Master Piandao I dropped it?"_

_"Tell him you did what you had to, to protect the people you care about."_

_"...yeah."_

_The newly comfortable silence lasted only a moment. "You think that maybe in a thousand years, a new hero will find it, and train with it, and meet a wise old master who will show him The Way, and fight evil and use it to save the whole world?" He gestured expansively, letting go of her and allowing his weight to fall on his injured ankle._

_It was predictable, and very much Sokka, and that was why she smiled at his yelp as she reached to steady him._

**END**


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